National Nurses United

MICHIGAN M unson medical Center regis- tered nurses in Traverse City held a standing-room-only commu- nity town hall in March to shine a light on their concerns about working con- ditions and the need for a fair contract. About 150 people attended to hear updates from the nurses, share their own concerns and experiences with patient care, and get involved in the nurses' efforts. "Nurses and community members are coming together and advocating for changes to support nurses and improve our hospital, especially when it comes to safe staffing," said Laura Nilsson, RN, president of the Traverse City Munson Nurses Association (TCMNA). "As nurses, we are patient advocates first and foremost. Munson's staffing crisis is driving people away and making it hard for us to provide the skilled care that all patients deserve. We are fighting for a fair contract that will create conditions that attract and retain nurses and enable us to provide safe, quality care at all times." Munson nurses have been working with- out a contract since March 10. The two sides remain far apart on nurses' priorities of safe RN staffing, retaining experienced nurses, and ensuring that skilled RNs—not A.I. algorithms—drive patient care. James Walker, RN, TCMNA grievance chair and cochair of the union's bargaining team, said at the town hall that patients are sicker these days and require more resources. "We want our nurses to be able to make sure that we're not missing things and responding to care in every way possible," Walker said. "To do that we need better staffing—safer staffing—and more reasonable workloads." TCMNA member and ED nurse Nikia Parker talked about how her department has been decimated by turnover because of the working conditions and must rely on many nurses with little experience because of that. "The loss of those quality, experienced nurses is something you can't replace," Parker said. "Decreased experience and increased unsus- tainable workload mean a decrease in patient safety and decrease in the quality of care we provide to our patients." "When you can't give somebody the best possible care, you leave your job every day wondering if somebody got hurt because there wasn't enough of you to go around," Parker continued. "That creates a moral injury that just isn't sustainable." Parker has chosen to work only part time at the hospital, instead working full time as a paramedic for half the pay. Two community members who are for- mer Munson nurses spoke passionately at the town hall as they cited similar reasons for why they left. Community health worker Jack Lankford told the crowd that Munson's working condi- tions for nurses are far worse than what he sees in other hospital systems. "The reports that I read from Munson about the expecta- tions on nurses are insane," Lankford said. "We don't see this around the state." Lankford said that if nursing were domi- nated by men, these issues wouldn't exist. "We rely on the emotional, physical, and educational labor of mostly women to do this career," he said. "It's not respected the way it should be and that should make you mad." At the town hall, the TCMNA nurses announced that they would hold a practice strike on April 9. The event, which was not a work stoppage, was part of Michigan Nurses Association's Week of Action, in which nurses at hospitals around the state took collective action to advocate for fair con- tracts and legislative changes. The collective actions recognized the fact that nurses' work conditions are patient care conditions. "While our team remains committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a fair con- tract, it's clear that Munson management is not taking nurses' concerns about safe staffing, nurse retention, and A.I. guardrails seriously," Nilsson said. "A practice strike is our way of sending a clear message that nurses won't set- tle for a contract that fails to support nurses and protect patients." —Dawn Kettinger Community shows up for Traverse City nurses Retiring soon? Join the CNA/NNOC retiree division! CNA/NNOC members in good standing who are now retired are eligible to join. Dues are only $60 per year, and you will be a part of an active, dynamic group of retired RNs who work to continue our vision of social justice and health care for all. More information and how to join can be found here: https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/ CNA-NNOC-retiree-division A P R I L | M AY | J U N E 2 0 2 6 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 7

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